


"I don’t think inhaling chlorine to get high is that fun."

by SandyRoses



Series: Prank Wars Are Totally Acceptable [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Aside from CheolSoo all ships are very minor, Crack, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Football Team vs Swim Team, Hair Dyeing, Humor, Innuendo, Joshua is a swimmy boye and I will never get over it, Joshua likes to tease, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Rated T for swearing, Rivalry, Seungcheol is dumb and whipped, Swimming Pools, but it's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 08:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20775620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandyRoses/pseuds/SandyRoses
Summary: If you were to ask why the swim team and the football team of Pledis high are such bitter rivals, no one would give you a good answer. But lately, that rivalry isn't nearly as...caustic.ORJoshua likes to tease, and Choi Seungcheol is easy to tease. Can you really blame him?





	"I don’t think inhaling chlorine to get high is that fun."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I told you I would upload the second part soon!! These two fics can be read separately without having to read the other one, but what's the fun in that? Hope u enjoy ^-^

If you asked someone where the rivalry between Pledis High’s football team and swim team had come from, no one would really be able to give you a good answer. It had started so many years ago, practically when the school was founded, and ever since then, the two teams had never seen eye-to-eye, always at each other’s throats, always willing to initiate a fight. It was just a part of the school’s history.

But after a long while, once things had calmed down, the rivalry had gone from throwing notebooks into the pool and stealing game equipment to replacing someone’s notes with pages of cookbook recipes and pulling chairs out when they tried to sit down.

Everyone credited most of the mischief to the captain of the football team, Seungcheol, and the captain of the swim team, Joshua. They were even more into the “rivalry” than anyone else on their teams, and it wouldn’t be strange to see them snipping playful insults at each other, honestly more fond than anything else.

Joshua prided himself on being the smart one in their little game. It wasn’t that Seungcheol was stupid, oh no, not at all, he was as good a student as anyone else, but Joshua loved being a few steps ahead of him- sometimes literally. So, during his latest prank, when he’d put a sizeable amount of bright, neon-yellow glitter into Seungcheol’s shampoo bottle, he’d made sure to get a head start across the field when Seungcheol burst out of the locker room, not wearing a shirt, hair damp and covered in glitter, shrieking indignantly but smiling so widely, and the entire day after that, Joshua smugly kept the image of his grinning, glitter-covered face close to his heart.

The unspoken rules of their game dictated that it was now Seungcheol’s turn to move his pieces, so Joshua stepped back a little, still smirking whenever he saw a few stray bits of glitter glint in Seungcheol’s hair every now and then under the right lighting.

“You’re so mean to him sometimes,” Minghao huffed, looking across the commons to where Seungcheol was sitting with Joshua’s best friend Jeonghan, who looked completely uninterested as the football captain waved his hands around wildly.

“I’m not mean, I’m just teasing him. It’s so easy to get him all riled up and annoyed,” Joshua hummed, tilting his head as Jeonghan flicked his hair over his shoulder and gave Seungcheol a raised eyebrow, judgemental in the way only Yoon Jeonghan could be. It made him smirk wider, and though it may have only proved Minghao’s point, he didn’t care that much.

All he really cared about was keeping his and Seungcheol’s game up and running. It was his favorite source of entertainment, his go-to pick-me-up when he was gloomy. If he felt sad, he just had to poke a little at Seungcheol until he broke and poked back. 

Ok, maybe he was a little mean. Just a little. But hey, all was fair in the prank war of theirs.

* * *

Maybe he was just a stereotypical good student, but Joshua loved reading in the library after school ended. He’d bring all his stuff with him on wednesdays when he had no swim practice and just plop down with a nice, thick book to keep him company for a while, and that was enough for him. 

His eyes widened when he walked in and saw that every single book had been turned around on the shelf, so that the spines of the books faced inward. He was faced with a lot of pages and no way to discern the titles, and instantly, a grin grew on his face. He knew what had happened here.

“This is so petty,” he chuckled under his breath, shaking his head a little, but he couldn’t fight the amusement in his chest that pulled a smile onto his face. Such baseless effort would only come from one person, he knew, and it was very likely that the person he was thinking of was right in the room with him.

Still, he jumped when a hand tapped his shoulder suddenly, and he turned to see a smirking Seungcheol, leaning against the shelf, looking triumphant. 

“Good luck finding something to read,” Seungcheol said loftily, and Joshua just rolled his eyes. It was just a lot of wasted effort, honestly, and he felt kind of bad when he said his next words.

“You must have wasted so much time doing this. I can just pick any book and read it, so who’s really the one being pranked?” He didn’t wait for Seungcheol’s answer, instead strolled to the shelf and picked out a random one. It was about some girl who got struck by lightning, and he knew he wouldn’t want to read it.

But he had a point to prove, so he smirked one last time at Seungcheol’s crestfallen face, walking off to plop himself in one of the comfy library chairs and opening the book.

Discreetly, he watched a slightly stunned Seungcheol wander out of the library, and he giggled until the librarian hissed at him to be quiet. When that happened, he made sure Seungcheol wasn’t hiding behind any shelves, and then got up to go scour the shelves for a different book. It took him a while to find one he wanted to read.

* * *

“He’s staring at you. Again.”

“I know.”

“I think it’s weird.”

“I know.”

“...He’s still staring.”

“I know, Seungkwan, I can feel his eyes,” Joshua sighed, putting his chin on his hand. He’d been glancing over at Seungcheol’s table every now and then, and for the past 10 minutes, Seungcheol, cheek on his arms, had just been staring blankly at him, barely blinking. Joshua dismissed it as him being lost in thought, but it was kinda flattering, he supposed. Seungcheol staring at him, especially if they were nose to nose, tension thick in the air, waiting for the other to make a move, made him weirdly happy, made his heart rate speed up from the adrenaline of being so close. He liked having Seungcheol’s attention on him and him alone. Whenever they were competing, the world was reduced to just the two of them and Joshua liked to keep it that way.

In a completely friendly, non-creepy, platonic way. Of course.

“Oh, he looked away,” Seungkwan piped up, and Joshua glanced over to see Seungcheol rise from his slump, frowning at Mingyu, whom Joshua knew fairly well and liked a good amount.

It was then that he noticed Seungcheol had a really cute pout. Well, he’d noticed it before, noticed it the first time they met, but once he looked at it properly… It was kind of adorable.

“Now you’re staring,” Minghao pointed out quietly, and Joshua quickly ripped his eyes away.

“It’s only fair,” he said innocently, fluttering his lashes. “If he looks at me, I get to look at him.” Minghao’s brows furrowed slightly in that perfectly unimpressed look he had perfected over the years, but Joshua was not deterred. Minghao had given him that look too many times for him to be affected by it.

“You two are weird,” Chan muttered from his place next to Seokmin, nose-deep in a book about gymnastics.

“I know,” Joshua said yet again, turning a smirk onto Seungcheol. A split second later, and their eyes met across the room. Seungcheol broke the moment first, looking oddly flustered when he tore his gaze away, and a triumphant feeling not unlike when he got Seungcheol with a good prank rose in Joshua’s heart.

Or maybe it was just amused fondness. He wouldn’t know.

* * *

“...You are the weirdest person I know,” Jeonghan sighed, looking at him over the top of his phone.

“The smartest,” Joshua corrected, idly inspecting his nails. His scalp stung a little from the bleach, but he ignored it easily, more focused on what would come after. He’d been wanting to dye his hair for a while now, and, if he knew Seungcheol (and he liked to think that he did), he’d find some dye in his shampoo bottle in the next few days.

“Weird,” Jeonghan insisted, shaking his head, though there was that gleam of cleverness in his eyes, almost a look of appreciation that Joshua smiled at; their similar love for mischief was what had drawn them together in the first place. “...You think he’s actually gonna do it?”

“Oh, I know he will,” Joshua snorted, glancing in the mirror at his soon-to-be perfectly white hair.

* * *

The others had been at first surprised by his sudden uncanny resemblance to Jack Frost, but they all quickly caught on to what he was going for.

“What color are you hoping for?” Chan snorted, taking a couple pictures. Joshua posed dramatically, humming.

“Oh, not sure. I’m hoping for like, a bright neon pink. That’d be real eye-catching, wouldn’t it? Plus, I’ve always wanted to dye my hair pink. Or like, silver. Silver would be pretty.” He then turned his big doe eyes onto Minghao, who scooted back uneasily.

“Hao, would you be a dear and give me your sweater?” he prompted, and Minghao frowned a little.

“...What for?”

“Just a little...red herring,” Joshua chuckled, looking at Minghao’s crimson sweater. “I just wanna get Seungcheol in the pool. Jun can say that he borrowed your sweater and wants to give it back, and he can bring Seungcheol with him so he won’t be waiting alone.”

“...I hate how much thought you’ve put into this,” Minghao sighed, but he pulled off his sweater anyway and Joshua ruffled hair hair before looking around for Jun. If he was right, then things would go perfectly, and he would have his hair dyed free of charge within the school day.

* * *

He sort of forgot about it when he was finally in the pool, holding his breath, practicing to expand his lung capacity. 

If there was one thing Joshua loved more than anything, it was being in the water. Any kind of water, be it a shower or a bath or a puddle or a pool- if he could get his feet wet, it was good enough for him. He barely felt like he had to breathe at all, and swimming came to him almost more naturally than walking. He could think more clearly when he was underwater, could relax better, could be himself when he was in his element. 

He wasn’t ready to go up when Minghao tapped his shoulder and pointed to the surface, but he followed anyway, because if he stayed, he wouldn’t get to see if Seungcheol was there or not. Once they were above the water, he gave his team a quick talk reminding them that the pool would be closed on Monday for cleaning and to make sure to get the times for their competition in two months. Chan enthusiastically recounted how he’d seen the swimmers from the previous tournament and declared their skills quite good, and Joshua sent him off with a chuckle and a cheeky ruffle of his hair.

Once that was done, he slipped back into the water, sighing happily.

“Jun’s here,” Minghao hummed, one of the few that had stayed behind. Joshua looked up, and to his immense delight, Seungcheol was there too, walking in after Jun. Seungcheol’s nose wrinkled as it always did when the football captain came into the pool room; Joshua knew he didn’t like the smell. If he was being honest, he didn’t really like the scent of chlorine either, but there was water, and he loved water, so he bore with it.

He gave Jun a subtle wink, one Jun returned, and turned his gaze to Seungcheol, a little smirk on his face. This was going to be fun.

“Bold of you to come here, captain,” he began, swimming to the edge of the pool, knowing the nickname would boost Seungcheol’s ego but not caring very much. Seungcheol rolled his eyes.

“Bold of you to assume I had a choice,” the football captain replied, shooting Jun a very obvious, raised eyebrow look, and Joshua laughed, shaking his head. He wondered how whiny Jun had been to get Seungcheol to go with him. When he regained his composure, he caught Seungcheol looking weirdly soft, fond and almost affectionate, but the look was wiped away as soon as he blinked. 

“I don’t think you’re here for a swim, are you, captain?” he hummed once the laughter had bubbled away. Seungcheol shoved his hands into his pockets, snorting once through his nose in that quiet, scoff-esque sort of way that Joshua honestly though was kind of hot.

“I don’t have gills like you do, fish boy. All you do is splash in the water all day.” Joshua wrinkled his nose, still smirking, intent on getting the last word.

“I mean, you catch balls for fun,” he drawled, and he was supremely satisfied to watch Seungcheol struggle to come up with a clever comeback. He loved using his wits against the football captain, loved being a few steps ahead.

“I don’t think inhaling chlorine to get high is that fun,” Seungcheol finally huffed, and Joshua only raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side so his cheek was on his arms, resting on the lip of the pool.

“Ramming into other people and getting knocked unconscious doesn’t sound that fun either.” He smirked wider when Seungcheol’s full lips tilted into that cute little pout, the pout Joshua kind of wanted to brush his thumb over so Seungcheol would smile again. Weird. “And speaking of you being here, should I be worried you’ve done anything to my stuff? Maybe stolen something?” 

Now, he knew Seungcheol could never actually steal from him. That would be crossing the line. He would never physically take something from Seungcheol either, unless it was lighthearted enough for both of them, like a notebook or a pen. Joshua just wanted to make sure the red ribbon on his bag was still there; it reminded him of home, of his mother’s red coat that she gave him when he was young and sickly and cold.

Thankfully, Seungcheol only snorted, and he put a hand over his heart, earnestly sarcastic. “Do you really think that badly of me? I’m hurt, Hong. As if I would...ever...do that…” 

Now, maybe the second thing Joshua loved most after the water was to tease, and Choi Seungcheol was the easiest person to tease he had ever met. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, and when the opportunity was presented so temptingly, how could Joshua refuse? He was glad he’d come to swimming practice shirtless.

He _ relished _ the way Seungcheol trailed off when he pushed himself out of the water, and he was so, so tempted to burst out laughing with the way Seungcheol was staring at him. He knew he looked good; he’d been swimming since he was born and he liked to exercise, so if his ab muscles were a bit more pronounced than other people’s, he felt he had the right to brag a little. 

Plus, the look on Seungcheol’s face was absolutely _ priceless_, eyes wide, lips agape, cheeks and ears pinking, stunned amazement written all over his face. He looked like he wanted to reach out and touch, and Joshua was maybe just a little mean, so he walked forward slowly, smirking.

“You were saying, captain?” he prompted in a silky purr, and even as he got closer, Seungcheol’s eyes stayed glued to his torso like it was plated in fine gold leaf. Joshua fought very, very hard to keep the laughter at bay, and he only just won. 

When Seungcheol just stood there, continuing to look sort of dumb like a fish out of water, Joshua snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Eyes up here, casanova.” Ok, he had to admit, tilting Seungcheol’s chin up with a single finger and smirking smugly might have been the most satisfying moment of his entire life. He understood then, why movie villains always did it. He basked in Seungcheol’s vacant, surprised gaze for a moment longer, savouring his clear win, then decided to relent, stepping back a bit.

“Might wanna go dunk yourself in the pool, captain,” he tossed over his shoulder as he walked away, and if he put just a tiny bit more sway into his steps than necessary, well, no one had to know, right?

* * *

And just as he thought, a thoroughly-shaken mixture of bright pink hair dye was sitting in his shampoo bottle when he unscrewed the lid.

* * *

“He actually did it. The dumbass actually fell for it,” Jihoon snorted, eyes fixed on Joshua’s now strawberry-pink hair. The color had faded somewhat when he washed it out, but it was still as bright as he wanted, and he kind of liked the lightly faded effect.

“I love reverse psychology. Ah, blessed be the ignorance of the Choi’s,” Joshua laughed, shaking his head as he walked into the commons, he scanned the room, and when he found Seungcheol looking at him, brows drawn together and that adorable pout on his lips, he waved. “Thanks for the free hair job!” he yelled, and everyone in the room looked at Seungcheol, who colored faintly and went back to hiding at his table.

“You’re mean,” Minghao mumbled again, but Joshua smiled. He couldn’t help himself; he wouldn’t give up the game of cat and mouse with Seungcheol for the world.

* * *

It was after a swim practice that Seungkwan, Chan, and Soonyoung came up to him, all of them looking thoughtful. It concerned him; when Soonyoung looked thoughtful, it was either something very, very dumb, or something very, very important.

“...One of you say something, you’re ruining the atmosphere,” he prompted uneasily, sinking lower into the water. His body was weightless in the water, free and floaty, and he could never get enough. “...Guys?”

“Joshua,” Chan started carefully, eyes on the ceiling, “do you like Seungcheol?”

Well that wasn’t what Joshua had been expecting. He furrowed his brows, confused. Did he like Seungcheol? What the heck was that supposed to mean? He just frowned at them, and they frowned back.

“Of course I like him. I wouldn’t keep pranking him if I didn’t like him,” he huffed, feeling that it was kind of obvious. And he wasn’t lying...

“No like, do you _ like _ like him? Like, romantically like, that kind of like,” Soonyoung clarified. Joshua blinked.

“There were too many like’s in that sentence, try again.”

“...Do you have a crush on him or something,” Seokmin sighed exaggeratedly, and Joshua’s frown deepened. He’d never even thought about it before.

“...I’m confused,” he said, because he was. “What brought that about?” The younger three exchanged some glances, and Joshua raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, I mean, you’re pretty dedicated to this uh…’game’ that you play with him,” Chan began delicately, “and you two mesh pretty well together.”

“The way you two look at each other is also pretty telling,” Seokmin nodded. “Like, have you _ seen _ the way that man stares at you? He’s got it almost as bad as Hansol for Seungkwan, I will bet on it.”

“Last time I checked, he was staring at me because he was thinking about his history essay,” he huffed, raising an eyebrow. Jihoon had told him when he’d asked, but there had been a little smirk on the younger’s face that Joshua didn’t understand.

“Ok, but like, that aside. He’s always trying to get your attention, and you’re always trying to get his. You like him enough, don’t you? Like, I dunno, what if you just...acted on it?” Soonyoung suggested, and Joshua hummed slowly, bobbing his head. He’d never really looked too deep into his feelings surrounding Seungcheol.

“Let me...think about that,” he mumbled, and without waiting for their answer he sunk to the bottom of the pool, closing his eyes and letting the sounds of water all around him help clear his thoughts.

Seungcheol. What did he think of Seungcheol? Well, obviously he was fun and easy to prank, and he gave back as good as he got, which was equally as fun. He was surprisingly clever sometimes, and when that happened Joshua felt like he was walking next to Seungcheol instead of being a few steps ahead.

But what about outside of that? Joshua knew Seungcheol was a good student, hardworking and honest and a fair player. He respected that, even if the football captain had snitched his notes sometimes to study a little more (he always pretended he didn’t see). Not to mention, he was pretty handsome. Not just pretty handsome, _ very _ handsome, in a...slightly unorthodox way, with his pouty lips, soft, droopy eyes, and delicate face, but handsome nonetheless. And his pout...Joshua could spend forever watching him pout, his full lips pushing out just slightly to give him an adorably childish look.

And more than that, he did genuinely like Seungcheol, in a friendly way if no way else. He was funny and sweet and kind of a dork but in a way that was endearing. Fondness was a feeling that often accompanied triumph in Joshua’s chest whenever he finished pranking Seungcheol and watched the older growl to himself, that little grin betraying his amusement lingering on the corner of his lips. He would love to be even closer to Seungcheol, love to be one of his close friends.

He opened his eyes slowly, gazing around at the blue-tinged water around him. His eyes had long since gotten used to the chlorine, but he closed his eyes again anyway, exhaling a little through his nose.

Hm. Maybe his feelings for Seungcheol were more complicated than he thought, but if he was being completely, totally honest with himself…

Yeah, maybe he did like Seungcheol, more than he wanted to admit.

He swam back up to the surface quickly, and the three were still waiting for him anxiously, eyes curious.

“I have an idea,” was all that he said, a slow smirk curling his lips.

“...What kind of idea?” Seungkwan asked warily.

“You’ll find out,” Joshua chuckled, pulling himself out of the pool. Oh yes, he would definitely win the prank war with his next little “prank”.

But if things went well, it wouldn’t end up being a prank at all.

* * *

“Are you nervous?”

“Extremely.” When he was nervous Joshua was blunt, and his heart was beating a painful rhythm against his ribs. What he was about to do was incredibly risky, but if everything went well, then…

Then he would be very, very happy.

“Relax. If he freaks out, you can just say it was a prank,” Chan soothed, but Joshua pouted.

“But I don’t want it to be a prank. I want to like...I dunno, I want him to like me back, I guess.” He waved a hand in Seungcheol’s direction, where the football captain was sitting silently, apparently thinking hard. Joshua was glad he was distracted by...whatever it was.

“I’m just disappointed you chose April Fool’s day,” Chan chuckled, shaking his head. “Now are you gonna do it or not?”

“...Now or never, I guess,” Joshua shrugged, drawing his shoulders up and steeling himself. Right, he had one chance. One chance to either mess things up irreparably or possibly get himself a cute, pouty boyfriend.

“Go get ‘em, champ!” Chan cheered quietly, and Joshua glared at him, though he hesitated for a moment. What if Seungcheol got mad at him? What if Seungcheol called the whole game off? What if Seungcheol was disgusted with him and never wanted to even look at him again? He didn’t know if he would be able to handle that. The thought of losing someone so important to him, even if they had slipped into his heart without his notice, hurt.

“Just go do it,” Hansol hummed, coming up on his other side as though reading his mind. “Seungkwan told me,” he offered, seeing Joshua’s raised eyebrow. Now, Joshua liked Hansol, so he nodded, taking a deep, slightly shaky breath and striding forward, towards Seungcheol’s unmoving back. He hoped the football captain would stay distracted long enough for him to carry out his plan.

Right, he had one chance. He had to get it right.

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he walked, could feel the tension in the room rising. He ignored them the best he could, focusing only on what was in front of him. He had one chance. Maybe things would go alright.

When he reached out to tap Seungcheol’s shoulder, Seungcheol jumped quite violently, but before he could say anything, Joshua jolted forward and pressed their lips together, feeling his heart skip a couple beats, then start running a million miles per hour. He was kissing Seungcheol.

Seungcheol was kind of unresponsive, lips slack, but that was to be expected. Still, when he continued to be still, Joshua pulled away, offering what he hoped was a convincing smile. “Happy April Fool’s,” he whispered, ignoring the cat-calling going on around them. He patted Seungcheol’s cheek once with a slightly shaky hand before turning and walking off, his cheeks heating up dramatically. 

Fuck, he sure hoped he hadn’t just messed everything up. He really hoped not. If he lost Seungcheol he didn’t know how he would react. It would be awful.

What he didn’t expect was a hand grabbing his wrist before he could make it halfway across the room, and as he stumbled to turn around, hands wrapped around his body, one on his waist and one threading through his hair, oh-so tender, keeping him in place as lips met his own for the second time. Seungcheol was kissing him.

He was stunned into stillness for a second, eyes wide, but then he threw caution to the wind, sighing happily and winding his arms around Seungcheol’s shoulders. It felt weirdly...completing, like it was something he hadn’t known he’d missed until he had it back. He tilted his head a little to make it easier, and Seungcheol held him tighter, which nearly made Joshua melt in his arms. God, he had strong arms, and Joshua never wanted to be held by anyone else. Seungcheol was so warm, too, so warm and gentle...

Joshua squeaked a bit when the hand on his waist went a bit lower, and someone yelled something about getting a room.

“We have this one!” he yelled right back, more focused on keeping Seungcheol’s lips against his. Fuck the rules about PDA; _ Choi Seungcheol was kissing him! _

And then he wasn’t, leaving one last, light little kiss on his lips before pulling back, looking sheepish and embarrassed but hopeful. Joshua felt his hands being encased in a warm grip and he saw Seungcheol’s fingers close over his own. He had cute little hands, perfect to fit in his own, Joshua noted.

“So I uh...can I take that as an invitation?” Seungcheol seemed so adorably nervous, rocking on the balls of his feet, and Joshua couldn’t help but laugh. Minghao was right; he really was a little mean.

“What, an invitation to be my boyfriend?” he snorted, and Seungcheol’s face fell comically quickly, his entire body drooping, lips pushing out into that fucking adorable pout. Joshua laughed again and reached up to brush Seungcheol’s fringe away from his eyes, letting his fingertips linger. “Stop freaking out. I want you to be my boyfriend and I want to be your boyfriend. You’re such a puppy, it’s cute,” he added, when Seungcheol’s face brightened. He truly was rather adorable, and Joshua barely resisted petting the top of his head.

“So- so can I kiss you again? Just in case?” Seungcheol asked, sounding excited, and Joshua leaned closer, nodding (though he threw in an eye roll for effect).

“Yes, you idiot, yes you can,” he invited, and that time, the press of Seungceol’s lips to his was expected and very welcomed. It didn’t last as long, since Seungcheol was tugging him to his table, but he didn’t mind. He could kiss Seungcheol all he wanted now.

When they sat down, he snickered over Jeonghan betting on them, feeling even more fondness grow in his heart when he’d learned that Seungcheol once stayed up a whole night thinking about him (in Seungcheol’s defense, he was trying to think of a good prank, but still). It made him incredibly tempted to just lean over and kiss the living daylights out of the flustered football captain beside him, but he settled for just making fun of him a little and pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

“You’re sweet,” he added, because Seungcheol _ was _ sweet, gentle and kind, and even if Joshua was a little mean, at least he was honest. Then he perked up. “By the way, did you ever think of a good prank to get me back? ‘Cause as far as I know, I’m winning,” he prompted, and he smirked at the look of slightly surprised defeat on Seungcheol’s face. 

After what looked like a very painful internal struggle, Seungcheol sighed. “...You win this round, Hong,” he admitted, and Joshua tried hard not to think of how hot Seungcheol just saying his name was. He could fantasize about that later. Right now, it was fond feelings™ time.

Then the light in Seungcheol’s eyes glinted playfully. “I’m gonna get you back later though, this doesn’t end here,” he warned, but Joshua just smirked his special smirk, his “invitation smirk”, as Jeonghan so stupidly put it. 

“I look forward to it, captain,” Joshua hummed silkily, leaning forward, and though Seungcheol rolled his eyes, Joshua ignored it, instead shuffling a little closer and tilting his head up a bit so he could brush Seungcheol’s ear with his lips, breath ghosting over his skin and eliciting a satisfying shiver. He had the perfect incentive in mind.

“If you impress me, I’ll tell you how I got my abs. Sound good?” He smirked at the way Seungcheol’s familiar grin spread over his face, the same grin he’d seen hundreds of times but never got tired of. He grinned back, the tension of a fun challenge zipping between them.

If Seungcheol impressed him, maybe he’d do more than just _ talk _ about his abs.

**Author's Note:**

> Lets be honest Joshua would totally use Seungcheol for free hair dye


End file.
